Bluray optical drive

[JHall0153]

Recently ordered a new laptop and tried to order one with a Bluray. The only optical available on new build laptops is a CD/DVDRW.

Why is HP eliminating the Bluray drive as an option ?

[Huffer]

Blu-Ray has been a bit of a disappointment in the market. The industry required the purchase of proprietary software to play Blu-Ray movies and in addition the whole need for optical drives has kind of gone by the wayside. You can download Blu-Ray quality content from online. The public never saw much value added from Blu-Ray quality movies as opposed to DVD quality. Smart TVs took away the need to have a computer play entertainment media. The large storage capacity of Blu-Ray disks became unneeded as inexpensive usb thumb drives became available and storage moved to the cloud. 

You can install a generic Blu-Ray disk in place of the DVD burner if you really need a Blu-Ray player as part of your laptop.

Post back if you need help with that.  

[JHall0153]

I do require a Bluray because many of the movies are being issued only on bluray and I'm not comfortable relying on the streaming services. Many times when I travel the Wifi connection is marginal and does not support straming very well.

All that said, I intend to upgrade the optical to a bluray and looked at the panasonic UJ-272 drive.

Has anyone been through this upgrade and have any pointers ?

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Make sure you get the correct thickness. Also the big issue is transplanting the faceplate from the DVD burner to the Blu-Ray drive. Try to get an image of the drive you are buying so you can see how the faceplate is mounted. 

[JHall0153]

Thanks Huffer.

I got a Panasonic UJ272 bluray R/W. 9.5mm drive.

Easy to install. I removed the single screw from the bottom of the laptop and slid out the old DVD drive.

I transferred the mounting tab to the new drive. The tricky part is removing the face of the drive. 

There're are no screws holding the face. There is a locking tab. I carefully pried the tab and got the face free. Then the face pivots and comes loose. The face installs perfectly on the new drive. Just place the pivot point on the new drive and swing it into place. The lock lines up perfectly on the new drive.

Slide everything into the laptop and secure it with one screw.

The Power DVD software for Bluray can be upgraded for $50. 

The whole upgrade cost $127

Well worth it to me.

[Huffer]

Glad to have helped. Enjoy